England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Corton Denham St Andrew

The Parish

The parish of Corton Denham lies in the extreme southeast of Somerset forming a stretch of the much reorganised border with neighbouring Dorset. Corton Denham is located about 6 miles northeast of the large town of Yeovil and sits a little over a mile west of the B3145 road which connects the Dorset market town of Sherborne with Wincanton. Corton Denham is a rather linear settlement which sits tucked away under the steep, Jurassic limestone, escarpment of Corton Hill and The Beacon and within a secret valley bounded to its west by Corton Ridge, its origins being as a spring-line settlement at the base of the higher ground.  Most properties line the narrow lane which runs from south to north through the village. This area had a rather more diverse farming regime than in many parts of the county, some arable existed but pastures dominated with cattle in the valley bottom and sheep on higher ground, the local speciality of cider orchards existed too. The small stream which rises in Corton Denham's valley heads westward to meet the River Yeo which, in turn, meets the Parrett and the outer Bristol Channel arriving through the port of Bridgwater. Corton Denham is sited at around 100 metres above the sea at its main lane but the escarpment rises above reaching 196 metres at the summit of Beacon Hill, rearing up from the back gardens of the village in dramatic fashion. Corton Denham parish was typically small in extent, as are many in this area of the county, covering just under 1,400 acres it would have supported a population of just under 500 parishioners. In Domesday times Corton Denham was a relatively obscure place, held directly by King William its only assets were 4 ploughs and the usual meadows and woodland.

The Church

St Andrew's church sits to the east of the main lane through the village, at the foot of the escarpment, tucked away behind fronting properties and accessed by a cobbled footpath between the same. Sadly this is a Victorian replacement church and not, indeed, the venue for these marriages. Today's church was built in the late 1860s for the local Portman family, major landholders within the parish for many hundreds of years. Built in a Perpendicular style which Pevsner describes as "idiosyncratic", the church follows the standard layout of nave & chancel with a western tower, the chancel is unusual in being polygonal. The church was clearly of little architectural interest for Pevsner whose account is a mere 5 lines of largely descriptive text. Parking should be careful and along the main street, the cobbled walkway is marked by a metal barrier and leads between properties to the churchyard. The churchyard is a little cramped, in particular from mature trees dominating the favoured southeastern aspect but other angles remain for the photographer.